When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS).

There is a need of an economical, reliable, and valid instrument in the German-speaking countries to measure the burden of relatives who care for mentally ill persons. We translated the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS) and conducted a study investigating factor structure, psychometric quality and predi...

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Main Authors: Christina Hunger, Lena Krause, Rebecca Hilzinger, Beate Ditzen, Jochen Schweitzer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5072682?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-793e73303f01450ab1b809e7bc6e16e02020-11-24T22:11:41ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-011110e016310110.1371/journal.pone.0163101When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS).Christina HungerLena KrauseRebecca HilzingerBeate DitzenJochen SchweitzerThere is a need of an economical, reliable, and valid instrument in the German-speaking countries to measure the burden of relatives who care for mentally ill persons. We translated the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS) and conducted a study investigating factor structure, psychometric quality and predictive validity. We used confirmative factor analyses (CFA, maximum-likelihood method) to examine the dimensionality of the German BAS in a sample of 215 relatives (72% women; M = 32 years, SD = 14, range: 18 to 77; 39% employed) of mentally ill persons (50% (ex-)partner or (best) friend; M = 32 years, SD = 13, range 8 to 64; main complaints were depression and/or anxiety). Cronbach's α determined the internal consistency. We examined predictive validity using regression analyses including the BAS and validated scales of social systems functioning (Experience In Social Systems Questionnaire, EXIS.pers, EXIS.org) and psychopathology (Brief Symptom Inventory, BSI). Variables that might have influenced the dependent variables (e.g. age, gender, education, employment and civil status) were controlled by their introduction in the first step, and the BAS in the second step of the regression analyses. A model with four correlated factors (Disrupted Activities, Personal Distress, Time Perspective, Guilt) showed the best fit. With respect to the number of items included, the internal consistency was very good. The modified German BAS predicted relatives' social systems functioning and psychopathology. The economical design makes the 19-item BAS promising for practice-oriented research, and for studies under time constraints. Strength, limitations and future directions are discussed.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5072682?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Christina Hunger
Lena Krause
Rebecca Hilzinger
Beate Ditzen
Jochen Schweitzer
spellingShingle Christina Hunger
Lena Krause
Rebecca Hilzinger
Beate Ditzen
Jochen Schweitzer
When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS).
PLoS ONE
author_facet Christina Hunger
Lena Krause
Rebecca Hilzinger
Beate Ditzen
Jochen Schweitzer
author_sort Christina Hunger
title When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS).
title_short When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS).
title_full When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS).
title_fullStr When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS).
title_full_unstemmed When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS).
title_sort when significant others suffer: german validation of the burden assessment scale (bas).
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2016-01-01
description There is a need of an economical, reliable, and valid instrument in the German-speaking countries to measure the burden of relatives who care for mentally ill persons. We translated the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS) and conducted a study investigating factor structure, psychometric quality and predictive validity. We used confirmative factor analyses (CFA, maximum-likelihood method) to examine the dimensionality of the German BAS in a sample of 215 relatives (72% women; M = 32 years, SD = 14, range: 18 to 77; 39% employed) of mentally ill persons (50% (ex-)partner or (best) friend; M = 32 years, SD = 13, range 8 to 64; main complaints were depression and/or anxiety). Cronbach's α determined the internal consistency. We examined predictive validity using regression analyses including the BAS and validated scales of social systems functioning (Experience In Social Systems Questionnaire, EXIS.pers, EXIS.org) and psychopathology (Brief Symptom Inventory, BSI). Variables that might have influenced the dependent variables (e.g. age, gender, education, employment and civil status) were controlled by their introduction in the first step, and the BAS in the second step of the regression analyses. A model with four correlated factors (Disrupted Activities, Personal Distress, Time Perspective, Guilt) showed the best fit. With respect to the number of items included, the internal consistency was very good. The modified German BAS predicted relatives' social systems functioning and psychopathology. The economical design makes the 19-item BAS promising for practice-oriented research, and for studies under time constraints. Strength, limitations and future directions are discussed.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5072682?pdf=render
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